How long ago was the BP Oil spill in the gulf? Just when you thought the PR No-No case study ink was still drying for “what NOT to do as a CEO of a company in crisis” in the latest PR text book revisions, it appears Carnival Cruises CEO Micky Arison is poised to be the first CEO pariah of 2012. Are congratulations in order? Hold that thought…why the silence Micky? Where are you? People are starting to wonder.

Two reasons why he may not be speaking at this point:

1. Micky Arison is Carnival legacy and perhaps not the business mogul brand of his kin who were at the core of Carnival’s beginning. Thus his PR/Law team may have instructed him to not say anything for fear that he may do more harm than good (the perception here is undeniable no matter what his PR/Law team think. Silence from the corporate exec team after almost two weeks is more than a PR killer, it’s amoral. So what is the goal? I suspect the “don’t say a word” gag-order is meant to prevent more bleeding and by bleeding I think we can safely assume something of the “punitive damages” color.

2. Or….the Carnival Cruise PR team was unprepared. This is extremely troubling for the Cruise line and it is only a matter of time before we see just how bad they botch this tragedy or perhaps like cream they will rise to the top and salvage the Brand. I think they have their work cut out for them.

And if the alleged Carnival 30% discount deal to travelers turns out to be true which I have not yet confirmed through any credible source, Carnival looks to be headed into the Epic PR “FAIL” Abyss with the likes of BP, Goldman Sachs, Jet Blue, & Exxon.

If the unresponsive Carnival Cruise executive team doesn’t get it together like… today – the “Shameless” captain of the Concordia will just be a sideshow to a bigger and more shameful catastrophe. Let’s hope they realize where the focus lens will eventually end up. Our thoughts are with the families of those lost at sea.